


With A Little Help From My Friends

by sourgummyworms



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Gen, Shatterpoints, based on the ROTS Novellization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25189615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourgummyworms/pseuds/sourgummyworms
Summary: When Anakin comes to tell Mace Windu what he'd discovered about Palpatine, he does a little more to make sure he's alright.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker & Mace Windu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 230





	With A Little Help From My Friends

**Author's Note:**

> I read the ROTS novel by Matthew Stover yesterday and the scene where Anakin talks to Mace was a little disappointing to me- obviously, Ahsoka's character didn't exist when it was written I still think Mace could have done more for Anakin then. 
> 
> Title from the beatles song

“And with you, Master,” Mace said to empty air as Yoda’s hologram flickered out. The comm center was darkened now, and he centered himself before making his way to the other masters preparing to leave for the senate building. To confront the Chancellor. To make sure he gave up his emergency powers.

The door whipped open, and Mace turned to see young Skywalker stumbling into the room, more disheveled than ever before. That was saying something. “Master… Master Windu,” Anakin said hoarsely. His eyes were puffy and red, searching the room wildly as his legs splayed forward in an effort to stay upright. How had he even gotten this far- where had he even come from like this?

Mace gripped his arm and eased him down onto some steps by the holo table. Anakin followed him to the floor and only gripped him back harder. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

He shook his head limply. “Obi-Wan..” he said searchingly. “I need to talk to Obi-Wan-!”

“Obi-Wan is operational on Utapau; he has destroyed General Grievous. We are leaving now to tell the Chancellor, and to see to it that he steps down as he has promised-” he tried to explain but something weighed heavily on the boy that the explanation wouldn’t satiate. He tried to get more out of him but his sentences were rambling and incomplete.

After some more questioning and checking shatterpoints- which were  _ strong _ ; centered around the knight, Mace held his breath for the next thing Anakin said:

_ Palpatine is Sidious. The Chancellor is the Sith Lord. _

It broke him a little. Like this war had been doing for three years.

Mace saw Depa in Anakin right now. She had also struggled with the dark side, as did he when he was this young. His fierce fighting reflected that, but Mace had mastered balancing that knife-edge. He knew it was hard, and from what he could deduce Palpatine had corrupted and mind-tricked Anakin into incoherency. Yes, he was a Jedi and his emotions should be under control but the fact was they weren’t. Telling him that and trying to get him to release his emotions into the Force wasn’t going to do anything- like every other time Mace had told him the same thing. Annoying, but true.

At this point, Sidious knew they were coming. Anakin found out from him somehow and came to the Temple to warn the Jedi. It’s amazing he was able to do it in his current state, but it just went to show that he was still loyal and  _ good _ enough to know what the right thing to do was. In the end, it would not matter if he and the other masters left now to confront him or in another few minutes. Mace needed to calm Anakin down enough that he wouldn’t do anything stupider than usual. If Obi-Wan wasn’t here to help him now, who could?

Ahsoka. She had just reported her capture of Maul. She was on her way back and would be able to pick up the call. Whether or not she would be willing to talk to Anakin was another question, but Mace had a feeling she was eager.

“Listen to me, Anakin. I know you can’t talk to Master Kenobi just yet, but what about your old Padawan?”

He looked up. “Ahsoka? She’s here?”

“No,” he explained. Anakin slumped down again. “She’s on her way back from Mandalore. She captured Maul. I can call her right now.”

Anakin considered the offer. His head gave the slightest nod and Mace immediately set to calling her on the nearby holo table. While the transmitter idled, Mace watched Anakin clutch his head and pace. The other masters at the other end of the room sent worried glances over, but Mace held a hand up to ensure he had it under control.

Finally, the call picked up. A clone ensign stood at attention and Mace had him retrieve Ahsoka- quickly. She came into frame standing beside Mace, looking up at him, but not as much as she used to. She had grown through the war in many ways not excluding height. “Master Windu, what can I do for you?”

“Your old Master needs you. Just… talk to him, while the other councilmembers and I are dealing with some other business.”

She widened her eyes in worry and confusion. “What’s happened?”

He explained as quickly as he could. The other masters were getting impatient and even Mace himself was itching to finally confront Sidious. He might not have explained it at all to the ex-padawan but Anakin was in no state to explain himself. He just needed assurance, and someone to  _ keep him here and away from the Chancellor _ .

Graciously, Ahsoka took it all in and nodded. She was able to calmly accept the news and do what she could- her Grandmaster must have been responsible for that.

At first, Anakin refused to believe the girl would even want to talk to him. As soon as he lifted his head though, he raced to her hologram’s side. Mace watched from a distance as the pain in his face began to melt away. He could do nothing to forcibly keep Skywalker in the temple, but he had a feeling Ahsoka would take his mind off things.

Before Mace could leave he asked one thing. “Ahsoka was able to capture Maul alive. What are you going to do with the Chancellor?”

Mace gave him the most merciful answer he could. “Only as much as I have to.”

… and as he fought the Sith Lord in his blood-red office that he had always hated, Mace thought idly of teaching Anakin Vaapad. Evidently the boy needed to release some of his anger and was much better at handling it in battle than letting it fester without speaking to anybody. After this, he was definitely setting up an appointment for him with a mind healer, too.

The Sith pretender died and the bright intensity of too many shatterpoints was already beginning to lessen. Maybe, just maybe after all of this, things would start to get better.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in one sitting so its nothing fancy just straight from my brain. Thanks for reading!


End file.
